Nov. 19 - Microsoft founder Bill Gates will come to Denver in June to address a joint meeting of Gov. Bill Owens' Commission on Science and Technology and the Metro Denver Network.

The meeting is part of Colorado's effort to raise the state's profile as a high-tech hub, said Marc Holtzman, the state's secretary of technology. Neither the agenda nor the exact date has been set, he said.

Gates will be coming at the invitation of the governor, who will serve as host for the visit, Holtzman said.

Owens and Gates also will see each other Dec. 14, when the governor plans to ask him for financial support for a proposed Colorado Institute of Technology.

"There are few worthier causes than higher education when it comes to building a technology workforce," Holtzman said.

Owens, who will visit Gates during an economic development trip to Seattle, plans to raise up to $250 million for the institute's facilities, programs and startup costs. The first courses would be offered through a network of other Colorado schools as early as next fall, Holtzman said.

The institute, which eventually would have its own campus, is expected to have an enrollment of 5,000 to 6,000 students, graduating 1,200 to 1,500 each year. The institute is designed to meet the workforce needs of the high-tech industry in Colorado.

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